Graft is hardly new in Latin America, but a widening bribery scandal has captured the public’s attention since December last year, when the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht confessed to making nearly $800 million in illegal payments to government officials and agreed to hand over at least $3.5 billion in fines.
Odebrecht’s admission spawned more investigations around the region, causing turmoil at high levels of business and government in a number of countries. By mid-July, Peruvian authorities had arrested one former president and sought the extradition of another one because of alleged ties to Odebrecht. Colombia arrested a senator close to President Juan Manuel Santos in August,